Ruins of Market Street Bridge, sketched from the eastern arch of the Chestnut Street Bridge.

Item Info

Item No: pdcc00475

Title: Ruins of Market Street Bridge, sketched from the eastern arch of the Chestnut Street Bridge.

Media Type:
Scrapbooks
Source:
Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

Depicts ruins of Market Street Bridge on Sunday, November 21, 1875, following its destruction by fire. Two men on a boat pull debris across the river. Shows the damaged stone piers left standing in the water with remnants of the wooden structure between them and on the river's banks.

Built in 1805, the Schuylkill Permanent Bridge was the first covered bridge in America. After a fire in 1850, the bridge was expanded to accomodate a railroad. The rebuilt bridge was destroyed by fire in 1875.